by Nan Dixon
She pulled her hand out of his hold and crossed her arms. “I don’t know where we’d go. And of course Issy will be safe. I can swim. Actually I was on the swim team in high school.” She’d quit because she hadn’t been good enough to get Daddy’s attention. What difference did it make if she came in second most meets? Smythes should always take first.
Kaden frowned.
“I’ve qualified for all my lifesaving certifications.” She’d intended to become a lifeguard at the country club in high school. Her father had nixed that idea. Smythes didn’t work at the clubs they attended. He’d also refused to let her work at the community pool.
“I’ll—I’ll go with you,” Kaden blurted out. “Let me talk to Abby. We can set something up next week.”
Josh jumped up and gave Kaden a high five. “Yes!”
No. She didn’t want Kaden tagging along on their adventure day.
Issy hugged Kaden’s knees. “Fun.”
“We...shouldn’t pull you away from your work,” Courtney said.
“I’ll be fine. This will be fun. I promised to take my granddad out. He needs time off from the rehab center.” Kaden stopped at the entrance to the library. He brushed her arm and added, “I’ll talk to you later about logistics.”
That wasn’t what she wanted. But the kids were grinning and bouncing up and down. Fishing? Really?
Kaden’s hot-and-cold routine made her spin. And not in a good way.
* * *
KADEN ANGLED THE camera so Courtney’s image filled the screen. Alone, she didn’t flip her hair or fake a smile. She turned another page as she read in the garden. Most evenings, she was in the exact same seat, ending her day with a glass of wine and a book. He worried his obsession with her was...getting weird.
He’d overreacted this afternoon. The idea of Courtney and the kids being on the river or at the beach and Heather showing up had him volunteering to come with them.
His cell rang. Roger. He shut off the camera view and set his laptop on the bed next to him before answering. “Anything new?”
“Bole used a credit card over at Hilton Head.”
Two hours away. Kaden rolled his shoulders. She was staying close. “I want to warn the kid’s sitter about her.”
“She has Heather’s picture and the cover story of Nathan being worried the mother would take the kid, right?”
“Yes, but that’s not the full story.”
“If more people at the B and B find out what you’re doing, Margaret might get wind you’re there in an official capacity,” Roger warned. “Knowing my ex, she’d take over the case. Is that what you want?”
Kaden was used to working undercover. And he didn’t want to be edged out of this case. But was Roger more concerned with his ex-wife and jurisdiction than catching Bole and Salvez?
“The nanny deserves to know.” Kaden gritted his teeth. Courtney was planning too many excursions for the kids. “She doesn’t just keep them locked in their apartment.”
“Then figure out a way to stay close. That’s why you’re at the B and B.”
“Do you want me to date the sitter?” Kaden snapped.
“How pretty is she?”
Very. “That’s not the point.”
“Keep your cover in place.” Roger hung up.
Kaden reopened his laptop and stared at Courtney in the courtyard. She read while sipping wine.
The tightness in his gut eased. The Bureau was using Isabella as bait to capture Bole. He needed to stay close to Issy. And Courtney spent most waking hours with the child. By dating Courtney, he could get close. Very, very close.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“THAT’S WONDERFUL,” COURTNEY said to Issy as the little girl added another shade of reddish-brown to her drawing. “Is it a...?”
Josh leaned over. “Dog.”
“Woof, woof,” Issy barked.
“And a beautiful one.” Courtney set a book on the edge of the paper as it fluttered in the breeze. After they’d walked Josh home from the bus stop and had a snack, they’d decided to draw in the garden.
Josh was working on his own picture.
“That’s a beautiful orchid,” Courtney said. “The blue looks just like the one Bess showed us.”
Josh grinned. “Thanks.”
Courtney drew morning glories. She would never be the artist six-year-old Josh was, and that was okay. Apparently she was good at telling stories. Who knew?
A shadow darkened the table and Kaden’s familiar piney scent sneaked up on her.
“Hey,” she said, faking nonchalance.
He peered at the papers. “These look like they should be framed.”
Josh thrust his picture in Kaden’s face. “I did this one.”
“Excellent.”
Issy tipped her head and gave Kaden a shy smile, then held out her paper. “Puppy.”
“It’s very nice.” Kaden set his hand on Courtney’s shoulder.
She froze. Kaden never touched her.
“I talked to Abby and if you want to take the kids fishing—” he knelt next to her chair, his arm resting on her leg “—I could go with you this Saturday after I set up for the wedding. Are you sitting for the kids?”
“Yes!” Josh launched out of his chair. “Yes, yes, yes!”
“I am watching them.” Courtney chewed her lip. “But I haven’t asked Cheryl or Nathan about taking them on this big of an outing.”
“I did.” Josh grabbed her hand. “We’ve talked about fishing for days and days. Weeks.”
“You’ve talked about it,” she said.
“It’ll be fun.” Kaden invaded her space and sucked up all the oxygen. “We can use my granddad’s boat and afterward head to Tybee for lunch and swimming.”
“It sounds like you have the whole day planned.” If Kaden was offering, he could bait the kids’ hooks.
He covered her fingers. “It will be a lot of fun for the kids.” He lowered his voice. “And we could have some fun, too.”
She blinked, but Kaden was still there kneeling at her feet and smiling up at her.
How long had she tried to get his attention? Now he was volunteering to spend a day with her and the kids?
“Please,” Josh said.
“Please,” Issy repeated.
“It’ll be great.” Kaden grinned, and a dimple flashed from his left cheek. She was a sucker for a dimpled man kneeling at her feet.
“Okay.” She checked the forecast on her phone. Hot as usual. “Saturday.”
Josh spun in a circle. Issy nodded. Kaden grinned, a second dimple appearing on his right cheek.
She rolled her shoulders, trying to relieve the chill running down her back. Why did Kaden want to spend a day with her and the children? What was in it for him?
* * *
COURTNEY TUCKED THE bag Cheryl had packed into the back of Cheryl’s SUV. The bag contained lunch, snacks and everything they needed for a week at the beach, let alone a single day. Courtney wasn’t sure why they needed calamine lotion, much less two bottles.
Kaden pulled his SUV into the parking lot.
“Mr. Nigel!” Josh ran over to Kaden’s vehicle.
The window rolled down and Nigel leaned out. “Good to see you, Josh. Issy.”
“Hi, Nigel.” She wasn’t sure they’d ever been formally introduced. “I’m Courtney.”
“Gray’s sister.”
She nodded. This day was going to be...strange. The only bright spot in this confusing day was that the kids were so excited.
Kaden climbed out of his car. He was wearing board shorts showing off lean legs, a T-shirt that clung to his muscles and a ball cap. He looked incredible.
“Everyone ready?” he asked, rubbing her shoulders. Ever since Kaden
had offered to take them fishing, he hadn’t stopped touching her.
“I’m ready,” Josh yelled.
Issy nodded.
She didn’t know how to relate to Kaden anymore. When he’d rejected her flirtations, it had been easy. But now he was acting as if he had the right to touch her. Did this mean something? Her head reeled. Maybe after their fishing trip, she’d understand what game he was playing. His switch had been too abrupt.
“Follow me.” Kaden patted her arm.
“Everyone into your seats,” she called to the kids.
Issy and Josh scrambled into Cheryl’s SUV. She double-checked that they were buckled.
“Don’t drive too fast,” she called to Kaden.
“I won’t.” He waved.
She headed to the driver’s seat. She didn’t want anything happening to the kids or Cheryl’s vehicle. Ironic, when she’d smashed the fender on her convertible half a dozen times and had never cared. Being responsible for Issy and Josh changed everything.
She followed as Kaden drove slowly around the squares. Finally they were on a causeway flanked with water and marshes.
“Are we there?” Josh asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered.
Josh bounced in his seat. “I can’t wait.”
Courtney laughed. “I can tell.”
“On Mr. Dan’s sailboat on the Fourth of July,” Josh said, “we went all the way to the Atlantic! I caught the biggest fish.”
“I think I’ve heard about that fish.” About two dozen times.
Kaden’s signal blinked that they should turn. She chewed on her lower lip. Right into the swamp?
“The houses are on stilts,” Josh called from the back seat as they turned onto a road carved into the marshland. “Why?”
“Maybe because of hurricanes?” she said, guessing. “You’ll have to ask Nigel.”
Kaden pulled into a long drive next to a small bungalow built on stilts. She parked behind his SUV. By the time she had the kids and bags out of the car, Kaden had his granddad into a wheelchair and had pulled out a walker. She took a deep breath of soupy, humid air. Dirt, water and decomposing vegetation filled her nose.
“Welcome to my home.” Nigel waved his hand.
“It’s cool!” Josh grabbed the walker, swinging himself on it like it was monkey bars. “Why’s your house on stilts?”
“Careful on the walker, Josh.” Kaden pushed the chair across the driveway, the shells crunching under the wheels. “If there’s a hurricane storm surge, the water won’t ruin the houses.”
He and Josh talked about storms washing through the lower levels of houses.
“Kids, one more trip to the bathroom,” Courtney said.
Josh stared down the long dock that stretched to the water. “I want to see the boat.”
“Bathroom first,” she said.
“You have to do what Miss Courtney says.” Kaden stopped the wheelchair at the foot of the stairs up to the house. “Can you bring over the walker?”
“Sure.” Josh pushed it to the base of the stairs.
Nigel took the walker handles and Kaden eased him to his feet. Then the two men worked their way up each step. What a lot of work just to get into the house.
She held the kids back so they didn’t get underfoot. Then they followed Nigel and Kaden into the bungalow.
“The bathroom’s there.” Nigel pointed. He headed down the hallway and into a bedroom.
Kaden opened a closet and pulled a key from a hook on the wall. “I’ll get the boat cover off.”
Josh ran down the hall. “I’m first.”
Issy and Courtney wandered into Nigel’s living room. Different shades of blue fabric—sky blue, ocean blue—covered the furniture. A huge picture window with a seat looked down on a dock. Tall reeds surrounded the long stretch of boards.
Bookshelves filled the room. She checked out the titles. Classics were next to a volume of Shakespeare’s complete works, nestled next to volumes of thrillers and a couple of romance books.
Pictures of Kaden as a child dotted the shelves. There was one of him in a basketball uniform and another with him on one knee in a baseball uniform.
On another shelf were pictures of Nigel. In many of the photos, he had his arm around a lovely-looking woman. And there were pictures of a young girl, too. Kaden’s mom? Young Nigel and Kaden had the same blue eyes, but Kaden didn’t smile as much as his grandfather. Apparently Kaden had been the same stick-in-the-mud back when he was growing up.
But he’d smiled more lately. At her. Her shoulders itched. She didn’t trust the drastic change in him.
“I’m gonna help Mr. Kaden with the boat.” Josh shot out of the house, the screen door slamming.
“Wait!” She hurried after him. No way would he fall in the water while she was responsible.
As Josh ran down the long dock, she yelled, “Kaden!”
He looked back at her from the two-level dock. A boat lift hung above the uppermost dock. That meant the boat dangled more than ten feet in the air. And Kaden was up there tugging a tarp off it.
Courtney pointed. “Watch him, please.”
Kaden climbed down. “Got it.”
She didn’t move until Josh stood next to Kaden.
Back in the house, she helped Issy go to the bathroom. She should have made Josh stay here with her. Josh was a slippery six-year-old. Was Kaden keeping track of him?
She picked up Issy and tried to speed up the process of washing hands. Then she carried her out of the bathroom.
Issy touched Courtney’s forehead, her lips tucked between her small teeth.
“Yes, sweetheart?” Courtney asked.
“No worry,” Issy said.
“I’ll try.” Impossible. She stared at the boat, but couldn’t see Josh. “Nigel, do you need help getting down to the boat?”
Nigel moved out of his bedroom. “Unfortunately.”
She drew in a breath. “What can we do?”
Nigel headed to the door, slower than Boston’s snow removal equipment during a blizzard. “I’ll need help getting down the da—” he stopped. “Darn stairs.”
“I’ll help,” Issy whispered.
On the porch, Issy steadied the walker. Courtney supported Nigel as he placed one foot at a time on the steps. He needed a ramp.
Nigel settled into the wheelchair with a sigh and held out his arms to Issy. “Want a ride?”
The girl nodded.
Courtney set Issy on Nigel’s lap, stealing glances down to where Kaden and Josh climbed all over the boat, still suspended in the air. She grabbed the bags next to the cars.
“Can you hold this?” She settled the lightest bag on Issy’s lap. Then she slung another bag over the handles of the wheelchair and picked up the picnic basket. “Let’s see what the guys are doing.”
But she couldn’t push the chair and hold the basket at the same time, so she exchanged the basket for the bag Issy held.
As she jiggled the chair so it climbed onto the wooden walkway, she glanced down to the dock. Josh’s head popped up inside the boat. Okay, she could at least see him. But if he fell, she was too far away to save him. The dock ran forever.
“Josh, be careful,” she called.
“I’m helping,” the boy called back.
Why hadn’t Kaden lowered the boat into the water to remove the cover? She rushed the chair down the uneven boards of the dock. The bag banged against her legs.
Josh climbed on the edge of the boat, rolling the tarp up as he walked.
“Josh, stop!” she called.
He turned and stumbled, his arms windmilling as he tried to balance.
“Josh!” He was going to fall into the water. A long, long drop.
She scurried ar
ound the wheelchair, her boat shoes pounding on the wooden dock. Her heart bashed inside her chest.
Kaden snatched Josh just as he tipped backward. The little boy’s sneakers squealed as Kaden dragged him across the hull. “I’ve got him.”
“You shouldn’t have to catch him!” Courtney clambered up a ladder onto the wide platform. She poked Kaden in the chest. “Six-year-olds can’t walk on the edge of a boat when it’s dangling this high above the water.”
“I was right here.” Kaden set Josh on the dock. “And I never fell as a kid.”
“How old were you when you climbed all over the boat?” She’d seen the pictures in the house and pointed at the kids. “Six?”
He opened his mouth, then stopped and paused. “Eight.”
Nigel called from the walkway. “Point to Courtney.”
Issy buried her face in Nigel’s chest. Courtney needed to deal with Josh before she could comfort Issy.
She ran her hands along Josh’s arms and waist. “Are you okay, honey?”
“That was cool.” Josh grinned.
“Not cool.” She glared at Kaden. “He shouldn’t have been on the dock without a life jacket.”
“I was watching.” But Kaden avoided her scowl.
She waved at the wheelchair and bags. “Life jackets are back there.”
“Give me a minute and I’ll lower the boat,” Kaden growled.
“Life jackets,” she insisted. “Now.”
Kaden grumbled, but jogged back and pushed Nigel and Issy to the bottom level of the two-tiered dock. He dug in the bag and pulled out life jackets, handing the largest one up to Courtney.
What if Josh had fallen in and hit his head? “New rule, kids. No one on the dock without a life jacket.”
“They rub my neck,” Josh complained.
“Too bad.” She knelt in front of him, shaking out the leg straps. “If you want to fish, you wear a jacket.”
Josh sighed. “Fine.”
Once she’d zipped up Josh, Courtney hopped down to the lower level and did the same for Issy. The electric squeal of the boat lift echoed across the marsh as Kaden lowered the boat.
“Josh, come down here with me.”
He pouted a little but did as she asked.